Rayne
by Hoarse Swan
Summary: Rayne Belding is being forced to break up with her longtime boyfriend by her parents. She doesn't want to, and Sirius has other plans. Work in progress.


**Rayne**

Rayne Belding stood at the window of the Room of Requirement, staring into the dark. It was raining, and Rayne had come here to think. The floaty, translucent white fabric of the curtains fell around her, making her appearance from behind seem soft and angelic. Her chestnut hair fell in soft curls over her bare shoulders as she leaned on the windowsill, letting the sound of the rain soothe her troubled thoughts.

Rayne had been having problems with her parents ever since she had brought her boyfriend, Sirius Black, back to meet them over the summer holiday. Mr. and Mrs. Belding did not approve of Sirius in any way. They scowled at him from his loose, dark hair to his worn, black tennis shoes. Rayne's parents were extremely old-fashioned and disapproved of Sirius's entire being.

Rayne read the letter she'd received from them again, the words eating at her soul.

_Dearest Rayne,_

_Your father and I have concluded that we disapprove of your current boyfriend and have found you a new one. Joshua is intelligent, funny, and we think you will find him handsome. Please accept him as your new boyfriend and break it off with Mr. Black. Your father and I think you will be much happier with Joshua than you are with Sam. Whether you do break up with Sam or not, we have told Joshua that you would love for him to accompany you to the annual Christmas party that the Ministry holds. As you know, your father is required to attend and he and I both want you to have a suitable date for it._

_ With much love,_

_ Mother_

A tear slipped from Rayne's eye at the mere thought of replacing Sirius for some stuck-up mama's boy. And her parents didn't even remember his name. 'Sam?' Rayne had thought when she'd read the letter the first time. Her parents didn't even care enough to get her boyfriend's name right. Didn't they realize that she loved him?

The door swung open soundlessly, revealing the one and only Sirius Black. Rayne hadn't noticed him standing there, so he took a moment to marvel at her beauty. She was standing behind an opalescent curtain, leaning heavily on the window in front of her, wearing a navy blue, strapless shirt and a pair of loose jeans. Her chestnut hair hung in soft ringlets around her shoulders, reaching the small of her back.

Sirius walked noiselessly up to her, lifted the curtain from around her, and slipped his arms around her waist, burying his face in her silky hair, relishing the sweet scent that hovered in it. Sirius straitened up when Rayne took his one of his hands and pressed the palm to her lips, then just held it, resting his arm across her torso. Her other hand found its way behind her head to burrow in his thick black hair.

"What's wrong, love?" Sirius asked softly.

Rayne said nothing for a long moment. Then, so quietly that he had to strain to hear her, she said, "Sirius, I have to break up with you."

Sirius was shocked. He turned her around in his arms to look at her tearstained face. She refused to return his gaze. Instead, she stared at the hand that she had unwound from his thick locks.

"Rayne," Sirius whispered, but Rayne cut him off by pressing her fingers to his lips. He kissed her fingers gently, raising one hand to finger the necklace resting lightly against the smooth skin of her chest. He remembered asking here what the large, silver chain link meant.

"It symbolizes that I am linked to Christ through my purity. It means that I will remain a virgin until I am married,"she had told him. She had also told him that she planned on giving it to the man she would marry, symbolizing that he and only he would ever hold her purity. Secretly, Sirius hoped to be that man.

He already had it planned. Though they were both only seventeen years old, Sirius was sure that Rayne was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. They would get married by the ocean on a warm summer's day, Rayne would be beautiful in a white dress; and from that point on, they would forever be in love, never leaving each other's arms. He already had bought her a ring.

He hadn't told Rayne any of this yet, however. He hadn't even told her how much he loved her yet. But that was because she had told him her views on saying the words "I love you," to someone. She thought that those words should be special and not said too often, that they should only be said when a person was absolutely sure that they wanted to spend the rest of their life with someone. She said that knowing that he loved her was enough for her right then. But Sirius had wanted to tell her that he loved her for some time now.

"Sirius?" Rayne brought him back to reality with her soft, beautiful voice. He realized that he had been silent for quite some time now.

"Rayne," Sirius whispered. "Why?"

Two tears leaked from the corners of her eyes at the anguish in his voice.

"It's my parents," Rayne said softly. "They sent me this." She held up the letter.

Sirius took it from her and read it, his puppy-dog brown eyes darting swiftly from side to side. He finished quickly and looked at her. There was silence for a long moment.

"Rayne…" Sirius said. "I knew your parents didn't like me, but are you really going to go through with this?"

"It doesn't look like I have a whole lot of choice, Sirius," Rayne said, openly crying now.

Sirius put his hand into the pocket of his jeans slowly, his mind racing. "Rayne, there's something I need to tell you," he said solemnly.

Rayne finally looked up and started to say something, but it was his turn to silence her by putting his fingers to her lips. Rayne just looked at him sadly, tears still running down her face.

"I know your views on this, but I really need to say it. Rayne, I love you." Rayne gasped slightly. Sirius went on, his eyes darkening with each word. "From our first kiss on, I knew it. I love you with all my heart and all my body and all my soul. Rayne, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know it seems too soon. We're only seventeen, but I've known for a long time that you're the one. Every time I touch you, I get shivers up my spine," he brushed her hair back from her face and went on. "When I look into your eyes, I feel… whole. I love you so much, Rayne, and I'll never let you go."

"Sirius…" Rayne looked into his now almost black eyes with her pure blue ones. "I think I love you, too."

With that, Sirius kissed her softly on the mouth. It was gentle and passionate at the same time. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip, asking to explore her mouth. She let him in willingly. Fireworks exploded in both their minds, so loud it drowned everything else out. The rain beat on the window, but they couldn't hear it. The only thing they could hear were their own hearts pounding loud in their ears. The couple was completely lost in each other's touch, in each other's kiss.

Never in Rayne's life had she loved anything as much as she loved Sirius in that moment.

Sirius finally broke the kiss and looked at Rayne. Her eyes were still closed and she was breathing a little harder than usual. Her lips were rosy and wet and her cheeks flushed, still streaked with tears. Her eyes finally fluttered open. The sound of the rain beat on her eardrums; she'd hardly remembered it was there, she was so lost in Sirius's kiss.

"I love you, Rayne," Sirius whispered, barely audible. But Rayne heard him, loud and clear. She rested her head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around her, stroking her hair, letting her cry.

Finally, Sirius broke the comfortable silence that had fallen between them. "Run away with me, Rayne," he said, his voice sounding far off and faded. Rayne looked up, tears still running down her cheeks.

"What?" she asked, confused. Had she heard him right?

"Run away with me," Sirius repeated, light shining in his dark eyes. "Come with me to wherever we wish to go."

"Sirius…" Rayne started, but Sirius cut her off with another heart-melting kiss.

He pulled back slowly and said, "Be mine forever, Rayne." He put his hand in his pocket and drew out a small white box. Slowly, he lowered himself to one knee. "Be mine forever, Rayne," he repeated. He opened the box.

Rayne's hands flew to her mouth to stifle her gasp. Never in her life had she seen such a beautiful ring. An elegant diamond was set in a gold band, with a small sapphire on either side of it. The stones weren't big, but they sparkled softly in the dim light. Inscribed on the inside of the gold band was the word "Forever," in curly script. More tears ran down Rayne's already soaked cheeks.

"Sirius," she gasped, then couldn't say any more. She knelt, facing him, tears flowing freely from her bright blue eyes. She reached behind her neck and unclasped the necklace that held her purity. She pulled it off and refastened it around Sirius's neck. "You have my purity, Sirius Black," she said.

"Rayne," Sirius whispered. He took the ring from its box and slid it onto her finger. Then he took both of her hands and held them, resting his forehead against hers, looking strait into her eyes. "Keep your purity until after we are married."

"Sirius, are you sure?" Rayne asked.

"Yes, Rayne. I want it to be special. I want it to be a celebration that our souls and minds have become one. And only then will our bodies become one," Sirius said, completely genuine.

Rayne smiled for the first time since she received the letter from her parents.

"You're even more beautiful when you smile, Rayne," Sirius said, grinning as well.

"I love you, Sirius," Rayne returned.

"And I you, Rayne. And I you."

A/N: Review, please. And could one of you Brits tell me what a kiss on the palm means? I read it in a book and I know it's a sign of romance, but I'm not sure exactly what it means. Anyway, I really hope you liked it.


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